Choose with care becuase things can go wrong with this complex machine.

Used car review: Toyota Prius 2003-2009

Choose with care becuase things can go wrong with this complex machine.

Used car review: Toyota Prius 2003-2009

30 Jul 2012David Morley

Mention at a barbecue that you drive a hybrid car and most people listening will presume it's a Toyota Prius you're talking about. That's what happens when you're the first with the latest technology and Toyota was, indeed, leading the pack when it introduced us to the Prius hybrid in 2001.

As time has passed and consumer attitudes have changed, the Prius is even more relevant as car buyers increasingly look at the green picture when making purchasing decisions.

But the car itself has changed, too, and the second-generation vehicle that landed here in 2003 was much better than the first, so those cars - which were sold up until 2009 - are the ones worth looking at now in a second-hand sense.

That's also because the Prius is a pretty complicated piece of machinery and, generally speaking, complex machines are nicer to own when they're new and nothing has gone wrong with them yet.

Which isn't to say an older Prius is a time-bomb, but simply that there is a lot to go wrong if the reliability gods turn their back on you.

There's all sorts of electronic control over the car's functions (it teams a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with an electric motor) as it tries to squeeze the maximum out of each drop of fuel, as well as charge its batteries at every opportunity. It's most efficient around town where its big brain gets to make the most of stop-start running. At low speeds, it can even run purely on electric power for short distances.

In urban conditions, fuel use can be as low as 4.0 litres or 5.0 litres per 100 kilometres.

On the freeway, however, where the petrol engine needs to run most of the time, the Prius's advantage is negated somewhat. Even so, the efficiency of that petrol engine and its swoopy aerodynamics are enough to keep consumption at about 5.0L/100km.

The Prius tends to drop retained value pretty quickly, largely because the marketplace is wary for all those reasons of complication mentioned earlier. It was also popular with governments and fleets, which skewed demand in the used-car market.

But there's also the spectre of having to change the car's hybrid battery pack when it finally dies. Toyota claims the batteries should be good for the life of the car and offered an eight-year/160,000-kilometre warranty on the batteries on later versions.

It's reckoned that the batteries should last at least 10 years and Toyota claims it has had to replace just a handful of battery packs, notably in taxis with more than 400,000 kilometres.

The cost of replacement is debatable, too, with figures between $3000 and $4000 being bandied around. But Drive contacted a large metropolitan Toyota parts recycler and discovered that a second-hand battery-pack from a wrecked Prius with 60,000 kilometres could be had for as little as $1100.

That doesn't necessarily mean, however, that a Prius will be as cheap to maintain as a conventional small car.

For a start, you're more or less locked in to Toyota dealer servicing because independent workshops don't tend to have the equipment or the experience to tackle Priuses.

Known problems include dodgy crank-angle sensors in some cars, which caused the engine to cut out when you least expected it. During any road test, make sure you check the dashboard for warning or "check-engine" lights that are illuminated after the car has been started.

Check the rear of the car. Do the brake lights come on even though there's nobody's foot on the brakes? We've heard of entire pedal assemblies being replaced to cure this ... not cheap.

Reliability hassles have forced recalls by head office: for water leaks that could fritz the electronics, an airbag scare and even one for a steering column that could potentially fail and disconnect the tiller from the front wheels.

Make sure any car you buy has had these fixes carried out if they were applicable. Again, a dealership is the place to determine whether this has happened.